Square, Inc.

Editor’s note: Guest author Keith Teare is General Partner at his incubator Archimedes Labs and CEO of newly funded just.me. He was a co-founder of TechCrunch. Much ink has been spilled these past few days on the Facebook IPO filing. Much of it analyses the details revealed in the S1 initial document. Some of it has focused on revenue and growth; some of it on control and corporate governance, some on valuation and how reasonable or not it is likely to be, and a little on whether or not the IPO represents the end of Facebook’s growth cycle. So, should you be a bull, and buy? Or should you run as fast as you can away from the bulls? For guidance turn to the risk factors part of the filing. For me, the most interesting part of the document is that part focused on Facebook’s mobile strategy and associated risks, and what that tells us to be alert to in the future. Now, to be clear, Facebook and its employees have done the most wonderful job of riding the transformation of the Internet from a place where anonymous individuals surfed the web, consumed information and media and accessed services to discover relevant things into an Internet where named individuals publish information to each other and discover things from friends. Facebook dominates the modern Internet. Its APIs extend its reach outside of its garden into almost every website on the planet – this one included. It is awesome to behold and it generates significant revenues already, and even more significant profits. Hats off to all involved. This success shouldn’t blind us to the relative size of company we are talking about. Last week Apple reported profits of over $13 billion for a quarter, Google’s revenues were lower than that number, and Facebook’s revenues are lower than Google’s profits. Facebook is huge by startup standards, but not by Internet standards. There is much more in its future. But this article isn’t about that. It is about the context within which the human Facebook IPO is happening. The Facebook S1 is clear on that context. In the risk factors of its filing it states: Growth in use of Facebook through our mobile products, where we do not currently display ads, as a substitute for use on personal computers may negatively affect our revenue and financial results. We anticipate that the rate of growth in mobile users will continue to Read More

When the iPad first launched two years ago, it was derided by some for its limitations. The first iteration didn't even have a camera on it, and it may never get a physical keyboard, so the notion of the device being used for content creation was laughable. Instead, the iPad was seen as a tool best used to lean back and consume content. For the most part, that's how things have played out. People use their iPads for reading, watching video, listening to music and gaming. Despite that, the iPad is finding a place in business all over the world. About 67% of iPad-owning professionals use their tablets at work, even if the vast majority of the devices are not supplied by employers, according to a recent survey by IDG. Of those people, 93% use the device for work-related communication. The iPad's role in business and worker productivity is fueled in large part by the efforts of app developers. Between the "Business" and "Productivity" sections of the App Store, there are over 12,000 iPad applications available for download. Some of the more popular choices include apps for word processing, document reading and signing, remote desktop, file-syncing, communication and collaboration. There are numerous apps that turn your iPad into a whiteboard, let you attend virtual meetings and focus more intently on what you're writing. For any business or sole proprietor with goods to sell, downloading Square or one of its competitors is just a no-brainer at this point. There's no shortage of business intelligence apps and even IT can use server admin tools, FTP clients and mobile device management software. The iPad and its chief competitors in the tablet space are not poised to replace laptops and desktops just yet, a fact confirmed in IDG's survey. Only 6% of respondents said their tablet has "completely replaced" their PC and 16% said the iPad had ousted their laptop from their lives. Instead, the tablet is serving as more of a supplementary device. With cloud syncing of calendars, email and documents, the tablet becomes sort of an extension of the desktop. Content can be shifted seamlessly across devices via Dropbox, Instapaper or email. There are, of course, limits. Graphic designers and high-end video editors aren't going to get much of their work done on an iPad. But for basic work-related tasks like reading, writing, communicating and even accepting payments, the tablet is a fit. Read More

We love new apps. It is one of the joys of our life to sift through the flood of apps that are published or updated every month and deliver the best or most interesting to our readers. November had some great apps for Android, the iPhone and the iPad. In our ongoing series of Apps Of The Month, we take a look at what November produced below. We are continuing for the third month with our list of app updates so you can keep track of what you need to update for functionality and security purposes. The list, as always, is a bit subjective so please let us know in the comments if we missed an app or you have found one that you cannot live without. A Charlie Brown Christmas - ($6.99 iOS, Android) Who better to tug on the heart strings of Christmas than Charlie Brown? The new app is a remake of the 1965 classic as an interactive storybook with original scenes and dialog, digitally remastered illustrations and music. You can play the piano, finger paint and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest. With narrative from Peter Robins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, it is hard not to like what the Peanuts gain has produced. I know what I am going to get for my 3.5 year old nephew when I go home for Christmas. i-Helicopter (Free - iOS, Android) You know those little helicopters you see at Brookstone in the mall? The ones that the sales reps fly around at the entrance to the store? Imagine controlling one (maybe not Brookstone specifically, but a flying helicopter) with your Android or iPhone. We saw something like this being demoed at Nokia World in London with a MeeGo smartphone but it was also able to track flight data onto a screen with sensors. Basically, it is a remote control for a toy helicopter. The funniest review in the Android Market was along the lines of "works great, until you get a call or a text." Minecraft: Pocket Edition ($6.99 - iOS, Android) Minecraft is one of those beloved games that people find absolutely addicting. It is now available in pocket-sizes on both iOS and Android. For a limited time, it is available for $0.10 in the Android Market as part of Google's celebration for hitting 10 billion downloads. Really hard to pass up Read More

iPhones. iPads. Android. Windows Phone 7. We've updated all of our essential apps lists to include a few forgotten favorites, some long awaited arrivals and, as always, even more amazing apps. Check them out! If you want to jump to see the best apps in a specific platform, click here: The end of the month is here, and that means it's time to do a little housekeeping on our list of the absolute best iPhone apps. Who will be inducted? Added: Sprd the Note: Share song with your friends directly from your iPhone. Import the track your want to share from your iPhone/iPod touch's music library in Sprd the Note and you'll have the option to share via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or email. Is it Ready Yet?: Undercooked meat is not only gross, it's potentially dangerous. And overcooked meat? That's just wrong. Is It Ready? has 23 beef, pork, and poultry variations to help determine the proper amount of time you should keep your meat in the oven. AirCassette for iPhone: It's a music player for your iPhone that transforms CoverFlow and iTunes and mp3s into a faux cassette player. You can relive the 80s, but without the bad hair and day-glo clothing. If you're so inclined you can make a mix tape for that special someone. Astrid To-Do for iPhone: It's a full featured task manager that doesn't make you want to rip your eyeballs out. Set up individual or group projects from the app quickly and easily. Email integration includes the ability to complete tasks by email. Oh, and it's free. Go: GO is an easy-to-use and beautiful app that lets users post photos, videos and messages onto their network (no cheating with backdated photos!). What's great about GO is that it offers an anonymous option so you can feel free to post whatever you want without attaching your handle to it. NBC Sports Talk: NBC Sports Talk is an app that keeps track of NBC Sports' wonderful sports blog network, namely ProFootballTalk with the ahead of the curve news and incisive commentary. But you also get news about all the other sports too (baseball, basketball, college football, etc.). It's the place to be during sports' seasons. Minecraft: Pocket Edition: The iPhone version is simply a Minecraft Eden, a place to build and dig. And it works fairly well. The game comes with 36 different blocks to work with, the Read More

We love new apps. It is one of the joys of our life to sift through the flood of apps that are published or updated every month and deliver the best or most interesting to our readers. November had some great apps for Android, the iPhone and the iPad. In our ongoing series of Apps Of The Month, we take a look at what November produced below. We are continuing for the third month with our list of app updates so you can keep track of what you need to update for functionality and security purposes. The list, as always, is a bit subjective so please let us know in the comments if we missed an app or you have found one that you cannot live without. A Charlie Brown Christmas - ($6.99 iOS, Android) Who better to tug on the heart strings of Christmas than Charlie Brown? The new app is a remake of the 1965 classic as an interactive storybook with original scenes and dialog, digitally remastered illustrations and music. You can play the piano, finger paint and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest. With narrative from Peter Robins, the original voice of Charlie Brown, it is hard not to like what the Peanuts gain has produced. I know what I am going to get for my 3.5 year old nephew when I go home for Christmas. i-Helicopter (Free - iOS, Android) You know those little helicopters you see at Brookstone in the mall? The ones that the sales reps fly around at the entrance to the store? Imagine controlling one (maybe not Brookstone specifically, but a flying helicopter) with your Android or iPhone. We saw something like this being demoed at Nokia World in London with a MeeGo smartphone but it was also able to track flight data onto a screen with sensors. Basically, it is a remote control for a toy helicopter. The funniest review in the Android Market was along the lines of "works great, until you get a call or a text." Minecraft: Pocket Edition ($6.99 - iOS, Android) Minecraft is one of those beloved games that people find absolutely addicting. It is now available in pocket-sizes on both iOS and Android. For a limited time, it is available for $0.10 in the Android Market as part of Google's celebration for hitting 10 billion downloads. Really hard to pass up Read More

Square has updated its iOS app with few new features for both merchants and customers. Version 2.2 introduces the ability for merchants to reward their regular customers with discounts. Simply define what makes for a “regular customer” (i.e. how many visits per month) and assign an automatic discount to their tab when they check out. The other new thing is support for physical receipts. Square can connect to receipt printers, allowing merchants to give their customers a physical evidence of their purchase, if they fancy so. In addition, there’s the option to wirelessly open the cash register, which can be handy for cafés where a person might pay by card but want quarters in exchange for a dollar bill to get a paper. Finally, the application now features the new “tips” field on the checkout screen. Square has recently surpassed $2 billion in payments per year and we’re pretty confident that’s just a start (with more to come)… Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis. Read More

Mobile credit card transaction company Square updated its iOS app this week to include several new features for merchants and customers. Perhaps the biggest update to Square 2.2 is the ability for merchants to reward their regular customers with customized loyalty programs. The app now allows a merchant to define what a "regular" customer is (ie: five visits a week, twelve visits a month, etc) and assign an automatic discount to their tab when they check out. Another big feature of the latest update is the ability to print physical receipts. Now the app can communicate with receipt printers so the customer can walk away with printed proof of their purchase instead of having to rely on an email or text message. Plus, the app has added the ability to wirelessly open the merchants cash register when the merchant taps "tender" on the app -- a small but nice feature at, say, cafés where a person might pay by card but want quarters in exchange for a dollar bill to get a paper. The feature also makes it easier for the cashier to store paper coupons in their cash drawer as some cash registers will not open a drawer unless the transaction is tendered in-register. Additionally the 2.2 update also allows merchants to create a "tips" field on the checkout screen. Square recently surpassed US$2 billion in payments per year an usage by both customers and merchants is sure to increase as more people become comfortable making transactions on their mobile devices. Square is a free download from the App Store. Read More

Square, the mobile payment acceptance tool, is getting a lot more useful for merchants with version 2.2, which brings loyalty rewards for Square Card Case users, hardware integration with cash drawers and receipt printers and more back-end tools. The new app, which is debuting Tuesday on iOS  and Android , continues the momentum for Square, which is now up to 800,000 customers using the app since launching last year. With Square 2.2, merchants who integrate with Square’s mobile wallet app Card Case, will be able to now identify and reward loyal users. They can set rewards based on a number of visits or a total amount spent at the business, and when the customer reaches that mark, the merchant can apply a discount to their purchase. It could be something like a 50 percent off discount or a free item. Merchants can tell a customer of the deal when they order and the discount will be noted in a user’s Card Case app. I just talked with Megan Quinn, Square’s director of products earlier this month about the hands-free payments for Card Case users and I mentioned that there still needed to be a way to reward regular users. Little did I know Square was working on that feature. Quinn said it’s all part of trying to improve the experience between merchant and customers, to turn their interactions into less of a transaction and more of a conversation that builds loyalty over time. “Meaningful sustained loyalty happens when people visit places where they have a great experience and feel comfortable. We want to turn customers who walk in once into someone who walks in every day,” Quinn said. This underscores what Square founder Jack Dorsey said at GigaOM’s Roadmap conference last week about how technology tools like Square can highlight and strengthen our humanity by creating more face-to-face interactions. Unfortunately, users aren’t able to track their progress toward a reward on their Card Case app. That seems like a missed opportunity to really displace loyalty punch cards, which not only reward visits but encourage more of them as you close in on your next reward. I’m sure future versions of Card Case will include something like this. The other improvements in 2.2 include the ability for Square to connect wirelessly to certain cash drawers and receipt printers. So far Square merchants have been giving out email or text receipts, but this will allow Read More

Square, the mobile payment acceptance tool, is getting a lot more useful for merchants with version 2.2, which brings loyalty rewards for Square Card Case users, hardware integration with cash drawers and receipt printers and more back-end tools. The new app, which is debuting Tuesday on iOS  and Android , continues the momentum for Square, which is now up to 800,000 customers using the app since launching last year. With Square 2.2, merchants who integrate with Square’s mobile wallet app Card Case, will be able to now identify and reward loyal users. They can set rewards based on a number of visits or a total amount spent at the business, and when the customer reaches that mark, the merchant can apply a discount to their purchase. It could be something like a 50 percent off discount or a free item. Merchants can tell a customer of the deal when they order and the discount will be noted in a user’s Card Case app. I just talked with Megan Quinn, Square’s director of products earlier this month about the hands-free payments for Card Case users and I mentioned that there still needed to be a way to reward regular users. Little did I know Square was working on that feature. Quinn said it’s all part of trying to improve the experience between merchant and customers, to turn their interactions into less of a transaction and more of a conversation that builds loyalty over time. “Meaningful sustained loyalty happens when people visit places where they have a great experience and feel comfortable. We want to turn customers who walk in once into someone who walks in every day,” Quinn said. This underscores what Square founder Jack Dorsey said at GigaOM’s Roadmap conference last week about how technology tools like Square can highlight and strengthen our humanity by creating more face-to-face interactions. Unfortunately, users aren’t able to track their progress toward a reward on their Card Case app. That seems like a missed opportunity to really displace loyalty punch cards, which not only reward visits but encourage more of them as you close in on your next reward. I’m sure future versions of Card Case will include something like this. The other improvements in 2.2 include the ability for Square to connect wirelessly to certain cash drawers and receipt printers. So far Square merchants have been giving out email or text receipts, but this will allow Read More

Square, the mobile payment acceptance tool, is getting a lot more useful for merchants with version 2.2, which brings loyalty rewards for Square Card Case users, hardware integration with cash drawers and receipt printers and more back-end tools. The new app, which is debuting Tuesday on iOS  and Android , continues the momentum for Square, which is now up to 800,000 customers using the app since launching last year. With Square 2.2, merchants who integrate with Square’s mobile wallet app Card Case, will be able to now identify and reward loyal users. They can set rewards based on a number of visits or a total amount spent at the business, and when the customer reaches that mark, the merchant can apply a discount to their purchase. It could be something like a 50 percent off discount or a free item. Merchants can tell a customer of the deal when they order and the discount will be noted in a user’s Card Case app. I just talked with Megan Quinn, Square’s director of products earlier this month about the hands-free payments for Card Case users and I mentioned that there still needed to be a way to reward regular users. Little did I know Square was working on that feature. Quinn said it’s all part of trying to improve the experience between merchant and customers, to turn their interactions into less of a transaction and more of a conversation that builds loyalty over time. “Meaningful sustained loyalty happens when people visit places where they have a great experience and feel comfortable. We want to turn customers who walk in once into someone who walks in every day,” Quinn said. This underscores what Square founder Jack Dorsey said at GigaOM’s Roadmap conference last week about how technology tools like Square can highlight and strengthen our humanity by creating more face-to-face interactions. Unfortunately, users aren’t able to track their progress toward a reward on their Card Case app. That seems like a missed opportunity to really displace loyalty punch cards, which not only reward visits but encourage more of them as you close in on your next reward. I’m sure future versions of Card Case will include something like this. The other improvements in 2.2 include the ability for Square to connect wirelessly to certain cash drawers and receipt printers. So far Square merchants have been giving out email or text receipts, but this will allow Read More